The fashion industry has recorded a year-on-year increase in greenhouse gas emissions for the first time since 2019. Given that the fashion industry accounts for 8-10% of global CO₂ emissions, this 7.5% swing in the wrong direction is especially troubling.
Considering how much more mainstream “sustainability” has become in the last few years, with next-gen materials in use at major corporations and waste-reduction initiatives now a serious consideration, it begs the question how much good has really been done.
While green initiatives have seemingly become commonplace, the emissions increase fits with a wider narrative – one of an industry locked in thrall to fossil-derived fibres and a system that relies on overproduction at the expense of workers and the Earth.
In 2023, polyester made up 57% of global fibre production – a figure which suggests the problem goes far beyond ultra-fast or even “regular” fast fashion.
While the problem is clear, the solution is much less obvious.
Eco Age reached out to leaders in the fashion and footwear industries, posing a single question intending to move the conversation forward:
“What one thing does the fashion industry need to do in order to curtail and reduce fashion’s rising emissions?”
ANA KRISTIANSSON, FOUNDER OF PORTIA, DESINDER & APPAREL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
“Brands need to reduce the collections and products they create. There’s this mentality that more products means more sales – and it’s completely insane. We know that 30% of products made don’t sell, meaning products stay sitting in warehouses, later being incinerated or ending up as waste.
With all the tools and social media channels available, brands can now build their own communities and keep a much closer eye on what products their consumers actually want and need.”
LAUREN BARTLEY, CHIEF SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER AT GANNI
“We have to start with materials — fibres and fabrics. They account for around 60% of a brand’s carbon footprint. It’s not about chasing the next perfect solution, it’s about making better choices today. That means switching to lower-impact alternatives and scaling what already works. If we’re serious about reducing emissions, materials can’t be an afterthought — they have to be central to the conversation.”
SOLENE ROURE, CO-FOUNDER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR AT CIRCLE SPORTSWEAR
“The fashion industry needs to focus on quality, practical, well fitted, repairable products that real people actually need. It doesn’t have to be boring. In short: less but better.”
ADELE GINGELL, DIRECTOR OF THE FINISTERRE FOUNDATION
“Design for circularity. That means using lower-impact materials and building in – and promoting – durability and repairability. This is the direct action we can take while we wait for policies to drive the wider systemic change and for supporting industries to receive the investment needed to build a truly sustainable infrastructure.
“It’s not about chasing the next perfect solution, it’s about making better choices today.”
Lauren Bartley, Chief Sustainability Officer at GANNI
JOSHUA KATCHER, NORTH AMERICAN HUB STRATEGIST AT CANOPY
“Brands need to dedicate budgets and give procurement teams KPIs to shift to low carbon and circular materials that are available now. It’s a business imperative to future proof supply. The instability of a burning world creates disruptions and uncertainty that can be addressed by brands, collectively, taking action.”
DAVID SOLK, CO-FOUNDER OF SOLK BIOCIRCULAR FOOTWEAR
“Biocircularity. Every SOLK sneaker is designed on purpose, built to last, compost-capable, and Made to Fade. Our first model, FADE 101, shows that it can be done, and if it can, maybe it should be. Biocircularity feels like relief, like responsibility, like progress. It feels like knowing your product is beautiful in its first life and generous in its second.”
SAI VALIMBE, RESEARCHER FOR THE SLOW FASHION MOVEMENT, BUSINESS AND SUSTAINABILITY CO-ORDINATOR AT BPP
“The one thing that needs to change is modularity. If each product can be used more than once, by disassembly, repurposing it would reduce the emissions by a lot. This extends the life of each product, maximises material use, and drastically reduces the need for virgin production. If a single modular jacket could be taken apart and remade into three or four new styles instead of being discarded, we could cut both emissions and waste while giving consumers more value.”
AMY TSANG, HEAD OF EUROPE AT MILLS FABRICA
“The real impact to be made is at the supply chain level. We need to be actively engaging with the suppliers to support them in adopting and implementing scalable innovations, to help decarbonise the fashion industry. This is where systems-level change begins.”
No single response here represents a single answer. There is no magic bullet for the fashion industry’s regressive and destructive practices.
Together, however, they present an idea of what change could look like and, most importantly of all, how that change might be instigated from within and without – a loose roadmap for the fashion industry’s future. A better future.
Karl Smith-Eloise is Features Director for Eco Age. He has worked as the EMEA Editorial Lead for HYPEBEAST and Editorial Director of FUTUREVVORLD, as a contributing editor to Highsnobiety, and for the fashion house FENDI. He now focuses exclusively on Earth-forward and ethical avenues in fashion, footwear and the broader culture.